Citing Deficit, Governor Now Proposes Wis. Delay Exam

Wisconsin's hotly debated high school graduation exam, scheduled to
be pilot- tested in April, would be delayed for two years because of a
lack of funding, under a proposal Gov. Scott McCallum has submitted to
lawmakers.

"We've got a $1.2 billion deficit" in the
current biennial budget, said Tim Roby, a spokesman for the Republican
governor. "While the high school graduation test is important," he
said, "we've got bigger fish to fry."

If the plan is approved by the legislature this spring—as
expected— students would take a pilot assessment to gauge their
grasp of English, mathematics, social studies, and science in 2004,
said Anthony S. Evers, the state education department's deputy
superintendent. Passing scores on the test would become one of a
battery of requirements for graduation beginning with the class of
2006, unless parents chose to keep their children out of the test.

The governor's proposal did not surprise officials at the education
department, who warned him last fall against proceeding with the exam's
development without first securing full funding.

The multiple-choice assessment is expected to cost $10.5 million to
produce, but education department officials noted they were $7.7
million short.

Meanwhile, Mr. McCallum contended that resources could be found
within the department or from other sources, such as the federal
government. He asserted that education officials did not want to hold
students accountable, and he threatened to strip the department of its
power over assessment.

'A Relief'

Gov. McCallum's new position comes as "a relief," Mr. Evers said.
"We had a discussion with [test developer] CTB/McGraw Hill, and they
understood completely."

To date, the state has spent nearly $400,000 on the endeavor,
according to Mr. Evers.

Neither the money nor the effort will be wasted, though, he said, as
the state needed to overhaul its 10th grade assessment to comply with a
federal law requiring that students be tested at least once during
grades 10 through 12.

"We'll be using the test items to supplement the 10th grade test,"
Mr. Evers continued. "It is working out."

Lawmakers worry, however, that those lobbying against the assessment
itself will now have more time to generate opposition, said Rep.
Stephen L. Nass, a Republican who is the vice chairman of the Assembly
education committee.

That is a risk the governor is willing to take. "It is important to
education ... but it now falls down the list" of priorities, Mr. Roby
said of the exam.

The governor does not want to cut funding for K-12 education, he
said, only delay the assessment process.

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